Growing scientific evidence for pig intelligence and emotional complexity has profound implications for the welfare standards that are ethically required in commercial pig production.
The accumulating evidence for pig intelligence and emotional complexity creates ethical pressure for welfare standards that reflect their genuine capacities. A species that demonstrates social cognition, emotional states, learning, and potential self-awareness deserves more than the basic physical welfare standards currently applied in most commercial systems. Cognitive enrichment, stable social groups, and environments that allow pigs to express their intelligence and social capacities are ethically required given what we know about their inner lives. The commercial pig industry's public engagement with pig intelligence research is limited partly because acknowledging it creates pressure for welfare improvements that increase costs.